Flyer Lands In Hospital After Jumping Out Moving Airplane In Suspected Hijacking Attempt

A United Express passenger has been seized by police after prompting a "hijack scare," forcing its Flight 5365 to a standstill on Friday evening.

According to authorities, United Express Flight 5365, which is operated by SkyWest, was set to depart from the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for Salt Lake City, Utah, after 7 p.m. on Friday when the frantic passenger in question allegedly got out of his seat and started a commotion, forcing the flight into a halt.

The man, who has not been identified by police, has been accused of attempting to breach the cockpit as the United Express flight taxied away from the gate area of LAX, according to Fox News.

He reportedly proceeded to violently pound on the aircraft door several times before he was able to open it by using the plane's automatically inflated emergency slide. The man proceeded to jump his way out onto the tarmac at around 7:10 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that airport police responded at the scene to arrest the man on the taxiway. The suspect sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Officials said no other aircraft passenger or crew had been injured in the incident, which prompted the Salt Lake City-bound flight to taxi back to its gate. The United Express Flight 5365 remained grounded for more than three hours until its departure at 10:36 p.m. PT. Its initial schedule was to depart LAX at 6:55 p.m.

Airport police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are conducting their probes into a possible hijacking as the man's motives are yet to be determined, Business Insider reported. No further details were immediately available to the public.

The hijacking attempt happened just a few hours after Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly landed at LAX following a brief visit to El Paso, Texas, which came as a result of constant backlash from Republicans. Harris was on her way home to her Brentwood property in Los Angeles following the U.S.-Mexico border trip, which was her first visit to the region since becoming the vice president.

The United Express stoppage also marked the second security breach at LAX in less than 48 hours. Another man was nabbed by authorities at LAX on Thursday after he allegedly sped up his car through a fence and onto a runway, breaching a gate at a FedEx air cargo facility. It sparked a brief police pursuit, causing two runways to shut down temporarily, CBS8 noted.